Mantra on song: The band-members in Darjeeling. Picture by Vivek Chhetri

Darjeeling, Dec. 16: A hard slog in the regional and national circuits has finally paid off for Mantra. The Nepali rock band from Darjeeling will soon fly off to Hong Kong for a concert, with trips to Singapore and Australia to follow.

Mantra will perform in Hong Kong with other singers from Nepal’s music industry on Christmas Eve. “This is the first time that a band from Darjeeling has been invited to perform their original numbers abroad. We will also tour Singapore in February and Australia in March,” said drummer Briju Chowdhury.

It has been quite a journey from 1999 when six young singers decided to make music their career and formed Mantra. Their stocks have risen sharply in the last couple of years. Their song “Sanskriti” was nominated for the Annual Hits FM Awards in Kathmandu in 2005-06 followed by another nomination for the same award for their song “Himali Nepali” in 2007.

The band has also performed in the Great Indian Rock Festival in New Delhi in 2006 and their song “Bir Gorkhali” was included by Sony in Indian Idol Prashant Tamang’s album Dhanyavad.

The band-members are quick to point out that success did not come easily.

“When we started, we had no good equipment and it was difficult to convince music companies of our worth. We had to record songs in Darjeeling and then go to Kathmandu for post-recording editing,” said Bhashkar Dewan, founder member and lead vocalist of Mantra.

Even in Kathmandu, the band had to work hard to establish their name. “It was only in 2002, after one of ours songs ‘Timi Bina’ became a hit, that we started getting a good response from music companies,” said guitarist Pragya Lama.

The other members who make the band are Bidhan Thapa (flute and saxophone) and Manish Thapa (keyboard).

“Staying in Darjeeling has been a constant struggle. We have to rely on music companies from Nepal even for our marketing in India,” said Lama. Mantra has nevertheless toured extensively in Bhutan and the northeastern states. “Unless you are really good, it is difficult to sustain solely on music in the hills,” Lama added.

In Hong Kong, the band will perform with artists like Adrian Pradhan of the 197 AD fame and Karma Sherpa, a finalist in a recent reality contest. “Faluda Singh, a talented singer from this region, will also join us,” said Chowdhury.

Cracking the national scene remains Mantra’s dream. “Once we are through with our tours, we will definitely come up with music for the Indian industry,” said Dewan.